Reaching For Heaven
by prouvaires
Summary: “I had a nightmare.” “What was it about?” “It was about that day we went to see Mommy at the hospital, do you remember?” Of course Chad remembered. That was the single worst day of his life. /Read and Review/


**Prompt: Night**

~x~

"_And when I couldn't sleep at night  
Scared things wouldn't turn out right  
You would hold my hand and sing to me." – Miley Cyrus, Butterfly Fly Away_

"Daddy?"

The small voice made Chad jump, and he twisted his head round on the sofa to see who it was.

"Sophie? What's the matter, sunshine?"

His daughter padded across the carpet towards him, her blanket trailing along behind her, and snuggled up against him.

"I miss Mommy," she said, gazing up at him. Chad's heart clenched as he looked into those big, brown eyes that were so like Sonny's it was unbelievable. In fact, her whole outward appearance was so similar to Sonny's had been that Sonny's mother was almost unable to bear being around her granddaughter.

Everything that was Chad in her was hidden well beneath the surface – the stubbornness, the unconscious superiority, the quick mind. The only thing from him that showed on the outside was the sparkle. Not a literal twinkle, but just in the way she was, she sparkled. Her smile shone, her eyes glittered, her whole body seemed to be shouting at the world, all the time.

"_Here I am. This is me. Take me as I am because I love being me and nothing anyone can say is ever going to change that_."

She flashed him her million watt smile – Sonny's smile – and hugged him around the neck.

"I had a nightmare."

"What was it about?" Chad asked, putting his arm around her and drawing her in close. She settled down against him and pulled her blanket up to her chin.

"It was about that day we went to see Mommy at the hospital, do you remember?"

Of course Chad remembered. That was the single worst day of his life.

"Yes, sunshine, I remember."

"And how Oscar was crying and the nurse came out after we were waiting and said that Mommy was gone. Daddy, where did Mommy go? Why can't we see her any more?"

Chad swallowed.

"She went to Heaven."

"But you said God doesn't exist."

"I don't believe that there's a God, sweetie, but I know there's a Heaven. And Mommy went there because all the people were very bored because there's nothing to do, and so they wanted Mommy to go up and make them all laugh."

"But why'd she go? She could have stayed with us and made us laugh instead."

Chad felt tears rising and battled them down, focusing instead on Sophie.

"But that would be selfish of us, sunshine, to keep her all for ourselves. Isn't it better that she goes up to Heaven where she can keep millions of people happy than if she stayed down here with just the three of us?"

"Yes, I suppose," Sophie replied, thinking hard. Then she reached up her small hand and brushed the tears away from Chad's cheeks. "Daddy, why are you crying?"

"Because I miss Mommy, honey. I miss her a lot."

"I miss her too," Sophie told him, and then a soft cough from behind them made them both turn. Three year old Oscar stood in the doorway, clutching onto his Action Man.

"Daddy? I'm hungry."

Chad grinned. "Son, you're _always _hungry."

Oscar laughed in delight, having discovered that his father wasn't about to send him straight back to bed, and bounded across the room to sit with his sister and his father. His brown hair fell into his laughing blue eyes as he tried to budge Sophie out of the way. Chad smiled indulgently as Sophie started to tell Oscar off, utilising her authority as the older sister by three years.

Oscar gave up and crawled over Chad to sit on his other side.

"Why is everybody awake?" Oscar demanded. "It's the middle of the night."

"We were just thinking. The night is a good time to think."

Sophie beamed again. "I like the night too. I wish on a star every night."

"You do, sunshine? Which one?"

Sophie dragged him over to the window, and Oscar followed, slipping his small hand into Chad's.

"That one," she said, taking Chad's other hand and pointing out a small, dim star in the middle of the sky. Chad stared at it for a while.

"Why that one?"

"That's Mommy's star. She said it was. She said that if she ever left that was the star I should wish on, and she would make sure that I got what I wished for, so long as it was a good wish."

"So what do you wish for?" Chad asked, lifting Oscar up into his arms as he began to yawn and blink sleepily.

"I wish that you would be happy again, Daddy," Sophie told him honestly, fixing him with her disturbingly piercing gaze. He ruffled her hair softly.

"I am happy, sunshine."

"Not properly."

"Well, you'll just have to wait for Mommy to work her magic then, won't you?"

She nodded and then yawned. Oscar was already fast asleep on Chad's shoulder.

"Come on you, off to bed."

"Will you come tuck me in and sing to me, Daddy?"

"Of course, sweetheart," he replied, and still holding her hand he made his way upstairs. He let Sophie go and get into bed while he lay Oscar down in his Batman bed, and tucked the covers in around him, planting a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Night, Oscar."

Oscar burbled nonsense in his sleep, and Chad smiled and left the room, switching off the light and pulling the door to. Sophie was already curled up in her princess bed when he got to her room, her pink fluffy fairy lights giving the room a safe, warm glow.

Chad made his way over and lay down on the bed next to her. She snuggled up against his side and closed her eyes.

"Sing, Daddy. You promised."

"Okay, sunshine."

She smiled in total contentment as he started to sing softly, an old song his mother had used to sing to him when he was younger.

"_Caterpillar in the tree  
How you wonder who you'll be  
Can't go far but you can always dream_"

Wish you may and wish you might  
Don't you worry, hold on tight  
I promise you there will come a day  
Butterfly fly away

Butterfly fly away, butterfly fly away  
Flap your wings now you can't stay  
Take those dreams and make them all come true

Butterfly fly away, butterfly fly away  
We've been waiting for this day  
All along and knowing just what to do  
Butterfly, butterfly, butterfly, butterfly fly away.

By the time he finished she was fast asleep, breathing gently, but holding with a fierce grip onto his shirt. With a sigh he rearranged himself into a more comfortable position and also closed his eyes.

~x~

**I don't own the song Butterfly Fly Away by Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus. Nor do I own Sonny With A Chance.**

**Please don't favourite without leaving a review. It's really frustrating.**

**I decided to put this up as a oneshot as well because it's my favourite of all my Sonny With A Chance stories so far.**


End file.
